


First Watch by babs

by babs



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-17
Updated: 2011-04-17
Packaged: 2017-10-18 05:05:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/185346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babs/pseuds/babs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the team takes turn on watch on a very early mission, they ponder where they are and where they are going.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Watch by babs

Sam:

"Night, Carter."

"Good night, sir," I tell Colonel O'Neill, keeping my voice low out of deference to Doctor Jacks...I mean, Daniel, who is already asleep a short distance away and Teal'c, who is sitting cross-legged on the other side of Daniel's bedroll.

I watch as Colonel O'Neill stretches out on his sleeping bag, one arm flung over his eyes. He's asleep within seconds--a skill I suppose he's honed over his years in Special Ops, and I'm left awake and alone in the dark.

P5T-113. Doctor...Daniel doesn't like the designations we give the planets. He believes we should refer to them by the names the natives call them, which I can live with I suppose, except we don't know the name of this one. It appears no one has lived here for a long time.

As I stand and stretch, my head tilts back to look up at unfamiliar stars. It's strange. Of all the things I've experienced since I first stepped through the Stargate three weeks ago, not being able to find familiar constellations is the most disconcerting. It throws my world out of order--out of the expected path I'd thought to follow. I wonder if going through the Stargate will ever become commonplace, if there will be a time when I take it for granted. I hope not.

Walking the perimeter of the camp, I'm alert for any alarms, but it's silent except for the night noises of birds settling in trees. Alien birds settling in alien trees, I remind myself. I sneak another look at the stars. Mathematically, I know where I am. The programs at the SGC can pinpoint our location, but Holy Hannah--I'm standing on another planet, outside my solar system, halfway across the galaxy. I suddenly feel very small and continue my walk along the perimeter. Best not to think of anything but the task at hand.

I check the time--two hours left on my watch. Pulling the candy bar Daniel gave me earlier out of my vest, my stomach gives an anticipatory gurgle. This is the first mission SG-1 has been on that hasn't involved another team. I glance over at my sleeping teammates. Who would have ever thought SG-1 would be us?

Colonel O'Neill's sleeping like the soldier he is. Even in rest, he still appears prepared, ready for action, and I know if I were to so much as whisper his name he would be awake and alert.

The colonel is an enigma. I know he's a very intelligent man, even if he tries to hide that intelligence behind irreverence. His sense of humor is...unique, and I still haven't learned my way around him. He puts me off guard and I suspect that might be one of his strengths. Make the enemy underestimate you and you come out ahead. Colonel O'Neill is a man of many secrets, a man of mystery, if you will. His past is murky, and even though I don't know the details, I know there was some sort of tragedy in his life. I saw the picture of his wife and their son on his desk at one of our meetings and, for just a moment, I saw him unguarded when he gave it a glance.

My face turns red with shame as I think about our first meeting. I underestimated the colonel, thinking he was like the other commanders I'd been serving under. Always needing to prove myself, I decided I'd be on the offensive. I'm lucky he didn't kick my ass to some outpost in the Antarctic. I accused him of being sexist and wound up showing my own insecurities and prejudices. I think it will be an honor to serve under Colonel O'Neill.

I gaze at Daniel, who, unlike the colonel, is deeply asleep. It's good to see and I'm glad because I know he hasn't been sleeping well. I can't help the smile that comes to me as I look at him. What an amazing man he is--and nothing like I ever expected. Sure, I knew all about him. I made it my business to know when I discovered he'd unlocked the Stargate. I didn't expect to like him, thought he would be arrogant as well as brilliant. But Daniel is---well, he's Daniel. Brilliant, kind, compassionate, driven through the Stargate by more than his search for Sha're I suspect, and strong.

Some of the other personnel on base have already made the mistake of thinking Daniel is weak, that he's only a civilian. Boy, are they wrong. I would never want to be on Daniel's bad side. Never. When I saw him stand up to the Goa'uld, any doubts I had about Daniel completely disappeared.

I already consider Daniel a friend, and friendship is something I think neither of us take lightly. He challenges me to think, to question, to stretch my mind in ways that seem foreign. I only hope that I will always be able to live up to his belief in me.

Teal'c is sitting cross-legged, his body appearing relaxed but ready. Alien--my teammate is actually an alien from outer space. When I used to watch Star Trek as a little kid, I never once dreamed I would meet someone from a different planet. Teal'c is...a puzzle, contradictions and a challenge to what I've always thought was possible. I still walk on eggshells around him, unsure of what he thinks, what he makes of us, the Tau'ri. But yet, deep down in my soul, I know that I can trust him with my life. I can't explain it but I feel safe with him. I trust him even though every rational part of me says I should not. What did the colonel see in him? How did he know that Teal'c would follow us?

Is Teal'c sleeping? I don't know--I can't tell. He does something called Kel-no-Reem, and it appears to be a deep form of meditation. He possesses a self control I admire. I have so many questions for him, and yet I hesitate, feeling it's not my place to ask them.

I look up at the sky once again. The alien sky with alien constellations, my safe world of numbers and theory turned on its ear. But wow--what a ride this is going to be.

Teal'c:

CaptainCarter calls my name softly and I open my eyes to see her standing near me. She smiles almost as if in apology for disturbing me. I stand, I nod at her. I will take watch.

I have walked many worlds. Going through the Chappa'ai does not hold the excitement for me that it holds for the Tau'ri. It is merely a transportation device, a tool to allow us access. But I am beginning to believe that being with the Tau'ri may show me another use for the Chappa'ai--one where the opening of it does not bring dread and death but rather hope and the promise of freedom. I walk the perimeter of our camp--something I have done on more worlds than I can name. All is quiet--my companions are safe. I will guard the camp while they rest.

My companions--my...teammates. Team. They are not all warriors--a concept I find strange. I look at CaptainCarter. She is asleep.

A scientist and a woman. The Jaffa had no reason to learn of science. Although I was First Prime, it was not considered necessary for me to learn any art but the art of war and command. I have never served with a woman; however, CaptainCarter has shown that a woman is capable of serving with honor and strength. I sense that at times she is afraid of me. I have given my word, my oath, to serve alongside her. I would die for her. I would die for any of them. Perhaps she requires more proof. I shall strive to do this.

O'Neill shifts on his pallet. He sits up and then rises to his feet silently. He is after all a warrior like me.

"How's it going?" he asks me.

"How is what going? And to where?" I reply. O'Neill only shakes his head.

"Never mind," he says and then points towards the area we had earlier designated for waste disposal. "Gotta go see a man about a horse."

"There are no horses on this world, O'Neill," I inform him.

He looks at me with surprise and then shakes his head again before heading in the direction he indicated earlier. I do not understand his expressions. He uses words in a way that twists their meanings. I have determined that is a helpful tool against one's enemies, but O'Neill also uses them with us. I will remember this expression and ask Daniel Jackson about it at a later time.

It is not long until O'Neill comes back into the camp. He walks the perimeter twice and then with a nod, settles back onto the ground, asleep within seconds. I would have done the same.

O'Neill is a man of honor. He is a warrior in the truest term. When he asked me to follow, I did not hesitate. I knew that my destiny no longer lay with Apophis, but rather with this man who recognized the false life I was living. I am proud, nay, I am honored, to serve under O'Neill. I will not turn my loyalty from him.

I permit myself to look at the final member of SG-1. Daniel Jackson. I must confess I was surprised to find a scholar traveled with O'Neill to Chulak. I was even more surprised to discover he would accompany us through the Chappa'ai on our missions to seek out the false gods. I was foolish. I should not have doubted his ability to survive in any situation.

Daniel Jackson is a man of contradictions. Gentle, yet strong. Compassionate, yet with a will of iron. Scholar, yet with the makings of a warrior. And I have wronged him, for it is I who picked Sha're as a candidate to be the host of Ammanuet. She was strong-willed, as is he, and I believe it is that strength that Ammanuet sensed; a pathway to gain power, even over Apophis. I know I have grievously harmed Daniel Jackson and I have vowed, even though I do not speak it aloud, that my quest shall be in tandem with his. To destroy Ammanuet but save the host, Sha're. Daniel Jackson has told me he forgives me for my dishonor. I do not understand how he can. But I know that Daniel Jackson does not lie. That he speaks the truth.

Strength. If Apophis were to meet Daniel Jackson's will, I have no doubt the scholar would emerge victorious.

There is a gasp from his direction and he bolts up, mouth opened as he pants for breath. It is a nightmare--it is another commonality. I believe the same visions haunt us both. I turn my head, wishing to give him a moment to gain control. I hear O'Neill murmur something and then Daniel Jackson replies that he is fine.

The sound of boots on dry grass alert me to his presence. I turn back to see Daniel Jackson by the small fire. He looks at me.

"I'm fine," he says.

"Yes," I tell him and say no more. It is not time for his watch but he sits down, pulls out a small book from his pack and begins to write. I resume my watch and wait with him until the last remnants of his dream drift upward with the smoke.

I have walked many worlds, but there is no group that I would rather have by my side than these three Tau'ri.

Daniel:

Teal'c is watching me and I duck my head, concentrate on my journal, and hope that he won't ask any questions. I can't look at him yet. I had the nightmare again. Sha're is calling for me, caught in a nightmare of her own, held a prisoner in her own body. My stomach twists at the thought.

I can't pretend to write in my journal for the rest of the night and besides, it's my watch. I close the book, replace it in my pack and look at Teal'c.

"My watch," I explain.

"Indeed, Daniel Jackson," he replies. He takes a step back when I stand, his face impassive, although I could swear that for a moment I saw sadness.

"Good night, Teal'c."

"Good night."

Teal'c sits on top of his sleeping bag, folding his legs and closing his eyes. I give him a glance and then begin my walk of the perimeter. I look upward. Sha're, where are you? I will find you, I swear. My throat tightens and I swallow hard.

I turn my attention back to the task at hand--being alert for anything that might harm my teammates.

My team. I've worked on digs since I was an undergrad. Being part of a team is not a foreign concept to me despite what some of the other teams on base may think. I might not be totally comfortable with all the military protocol, but I do know how to work and play with others.

I can even work and play, well maybe not play, with Teal'c. I resume my place by the fire and look at him, relaxed in his meditation. I know it doesn't make sense for me to accept Teal'c as part of SG-1, but I do. Maybe it's because he is as much an alien as I am in the world of the SGC. Maybe it's because I know that he was doing what he'd been trained to do his whole life. And maybe it's because in one instant he was willing to leave it behind in order to free his people. He is an honorable man, despite his past. I trust Teal'c. Teal'c gives me hope. If he, a Jaffa, First Prime of Apophis, could be persuaded that the Goa'uld are false gods, then perhaps there is hope when we step through the Stargate. There is hope that others the Goa'uld enslave will rebel; there is hope the Jaffa will rise up against the false gods; there is hope that maybe Sha're and Skaara can be saved.

I trust Teal'c. I would put my life in his hands, knowing he would not harm me. Of that I am certain. Have I forgiven him? I question whether there is something to forgive. He didn't *know* me when he picked Sha're. Would he do something to intentionally hurt me now? I know he wouldn't. For now that needs to be enough.

Getting up, I walk the perimeter again, alert for any thing that is out of place. I don't have the soldier instincts of Jack or Sam. But I am aware of the importance of my watch. It's awe-inspiring to think we are the only people on this planet. At least, we are the only people we know of. After all, we are only seeing a little bit of this world. Who knows what might exist beyond the mountains I could see in the daylight. I wish that we could really explore, even though I know we can't. Is that wrong of me? Is it wrong of me to want to see what is beyond the next bend of the road when Sha're, when Skaara, are out there somewhere? If I hadn't insisted on going to the Cartouche room on Abydos, if I'd insisted Sha're come along, if, if, if. The 'what ifs' haunt my dreams.

A sound from outside the perimeter has my heart beating faster, and then I smile as I see the moon-reflected eyes of a small creature scurrying away in the night. All is calm; all is well. At least here.

Captain...Doctor...Sam turns in her sleep as I return to my place by the fire. I like Sam. I feel comfortable around her. It's as if I discovered a long lost sister. We connect on a way that Jack and Teal'c can't understand. They are warriors; Sam and I are scientists. Although...she touches both worlds. Scientist and soldier. Seems a strange combination. No, scratch that, a month or so ago it would have seemed a strange combination. Now it doesn't seem out of the ordinary at all.

Sam and I had an instant connection when I met her on Abydos. I knew I'd found a kindred spirit the minute I saw her eyes light up when I explained my theory in the Cartouche room. I think I may have been one of the first people to ever challenge her thinking. I like the spark in her eyes when I debate with her. I like the challenges she gives me. When I spar mentally with Sam, I'm able to escape into what has always been my solace--my work, my mind. I think Sam's caught onto that aspect of my personality though. She's shown up in my lab at odd times, coffee for both of us and sometimes a few candy bars. I suspect Sam uses work for her escape too, although I'm not sure what she has to escape. We use those times to debate all sorts of things. Sam is intelligent, witty, but she does tend to become rigid in her thinking. It's the hard scientist in her. Sam likes things to add up, to make sense. I think she's going to be in for some surprises along the way because from the little we've seen out here, a lot of things we think we know, we don't.

I tilt my head back, looking up at the stars. Just as on Abydos on a moonless night, the stars fill the expanse of sky. I wonder where Abydos is, where Earth is, where in the vast expanse of space Sha're is being held against her will.

"Hey." Jack's quiet voice startles me and I look down at the ground ashamed to be caught off-guard.

"I'll take watch," he says.

I open my mouth to tell him that I can finish but he's already off walking the perimeter. I watch him, amazed that somehow he and I have connected in a way that happens rarely in anyone's life.

He's different than the Jack O'Neill I first met over a year ago. Maybe time does heal. Maybe it's started to allow Jack to realize what happened to Charlie was a senseless accident, not a reflection on him as a father. Just as Sam and I connected on a professional level, Jack and I connect on a personal one. Somehow against all odds, he and I are friends. The geek and the colonel. Quite a pair.

Jack understands pain and loss. He understands my pain and loss. Jack doesn't push, he doesn't expect me to tell him how I sometimes look at the stars and my throat gets so tight I can hardly swallow, much less breathe. He doesn't fill the silence with empty platitudes. He understands what it's like to lose someone you love more than life itself. Jack understands that being there is more important than any words you can say.

He told me not long after I came back to Earth, after our mission to Chulak that he wanted me to challenge him--to bring up the tough questions. I wonder if he knows what he's asking. But I'll do it. I'd do it anyway. Jack just hasn't figured that out yet. I stand up to stretch. Jack finishes his check and comes back to stand by me.

"It's been quiet," I tell him.

"Yep," he agrees. We both sit down.

"Why don't you..." he motions towards my bed roll.

"Not sleepy," I say.

He nods, not expecting more. I relax a fraction and pull out my journal again bending over a blank page. I look up, aware of Jack watching me.

"It's okay," Jack says. "I'm on watch."

I turn my attention back to the page, feeling somehow safer in the night. I hesitate for only a moment before I begin to write, 'I've found my family. We're still getting to know one another, but we are a family in the truest sense of the word.'

Jack:

Daniel is scribbling away in his journal again. I shouldn't say scribbling. I've seen Daniel's handwriting and it's not a scribble. But the way he hunches over when he writes, it's amazing he doesn't. I think he finds solace in writing down his thoughts. I don't think Daniel realizes I'm on to him. That I've already figured out some of his habits. His coffee addiction for one. I'm sure he likes coffee, probably learned to use it to help stay awake while he worked on whatever degree he was pursuing. But I also have figured out it's his great escape. If he drinks coffee, sleeping is put off for awhile, the nightmares are held at bay for a few more hours.

He's not going to get any more sleep tonight either. He'll stay up and keep me company on my watch. Oh he won't talk or disturb the silence in any way unless I initiate something, but he'll sit and watch the fire, take a few more turns around the perimeter, write some more in his journal.

Who'd have ever thought I'd be commanding a team that included a civilian? And not just any civilian but a brilliant, geeky, somewhat awkward, stubborn one. Daniel's got a lot more qualities: compassionate, loyal, curious. But I think that stubbornness, that iron core strength of will he has, is his greatest strength as well as his greatest weakness.

Daniel has an unique way of thinking, able to make intuitive leaps that none of the rest of my team can. He manages to surprise me about every five minutes or so. Just when I think I have the guy figured out, he goes and does something like--oh, I don't know--jump in front of a staff weapon and get himself killed for me. Or figure out that a dusty old room on Abydos holds the key to traveling all over the universe through the Stargate. Or stand up to a Goa'uld to try to reach through the snake to the host inside. I'm sure he'll come up with plenty more surprises to keep me on my toes. We need to work on his sense of self-preservation though.

More important than all of that is the fact that somehow, despite the differences between us, I already consider Daniel a friend. Me-big, gruff, Special Ops trained Air Force Colonel, friends with a shaggy haired, four-eyed geeky civilian archaeologist whose IQ probably is double mine. But we complement each other. I'm not quite sure how. All I know is it works. I trust Daniel to be honest, to let me know what he thinks. Hell, I want him to let me know what he thinks. I might not agree with him, but I need him to challenge my thinking. This is a new endeavor, and I suspect that we'll be coming into contact with things a lot stranger than parasitic snakes that take over their human hosts.

"Coffee?"

Daniel holds out a cup to me and I take it, giving him a smile. He smiles back in that hesitant way he has, as if he's not sure whether or not his gesture was well received.

"Thanks," I tell him, draining the liquid in two swallows before getting up to walk the perimeter again. As I look back at him, I see his head bent over the journal once more and I hope that for a change he's thinking not of what he's lost, but what he's gained.

Carter turns over in her sleep, although she's probably not sleeping. I've observed her enough to know she keeps watch over Daniel when she thinks no one is looking. Captain Doctor Samantha Carter--smart, lover of techno-babble, computers, doohickeys, and self-appointed big sister to one unsuspecting Daniel Jackson. Also a woman with a rock on her shoulder that I've managed to whittle down to chip-size. Guess the rock came with being a really smart woman in a mostly male military. Yeah, Carter is smart, but unlike Daniel, she's not used to dealing with people as much as she is to dealing with numbers and theories.

I have to admit she's come a long way in the short time she's been part of SG-1. After our first meeting, I was ready to go to General Hammond and ask him to pull her off the mission to Abydos. I don't know who made her think that all male officers in the Air Force were chauvinists and out to make her life a living hell, but I'm *not* one of them and I resented the fact that she thought I was.

I don't care if she's a woman--my only requirement is that she does her job. And I have to admit she does it admirably. I've got to get her to work on the explanation aspect of her briefings to me. I really don't need to know all the details of how something works--what I want to know is will it work and is it going to get us killed or not. She reminds me of an overgrown puppy in her eagerness to please. But I've also learned that she isn't afraid to stand up and speak out.

Just as I thought, she's awake. She gets up and crosses over to sit by Daniel. She's talking to him in a low quiet voice and, even though I can't hear what she's saying, I don't miss her bringing a hand up to touch his shoulder. Nights are always the hardest when grief is fresh.

If Carter's up and mother-henning Daniel, it won't be long until the other member of SG-1 is alert too. Just as I thought, Teal'c rises with a grace I envy. It isn't fair that someone who is at least twice my age has better knees than I do. He stands by Daniel and Carter for a few moments before heading to the perimeter. He begins walking counter-clockwise to my clockwise so we will meet halfway.

"Teal'c," I acknowledge as we approach one another.

"Yes," he says in a monotone.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?"

I jerk my chin in Daniel's direction.

"It appears that Daniel Jackson no longer needs rest," Teal'c says, watching Daniel.

I don't think Teal'c is quite as obtuse as he pretends when it comes to understanding what I say to him. And he's certainly no fool when it comes to Daniel. We both know of Daniel's nightmares.

He bows his head and passes me, continuing his walk.

Teal'c--probably the only person, scratch that, alien, on the team who can understand the distasteful things I've had to do in the line of duty. Even Carter, soldier that she is, wouldn't understand. When I asked Teal'c to follow us, to give up what he was, I saw the man behind the facade of First Prime. I saw a warrior of honor, of integrity. It was a connection of equals. Teal'c knows what it's like to kill a man with his bare hands, knows what it's like to watch comrades bleed out on a battlefield. And I feel better knowing that he does. Those of us who've needed to kill to survive understand the cost to our souls. Teal'c and I were brothers before we ever met, our lives forged by the blood that stains our hands. I trust Teal'c. He's given his word to us, and I know he will honor that word. Just the kind of person I want watching my six when the fighting is hot and heavy.

As Teal'c heads back to the fire I angle there too. Daniel's finally put his journal away and is drinking another cup of coffee. Carter is smiling as she watches him and I can see her fingers twitching as if she wants to get out of camp and do some more sciency-stuff, while Teal'c stands, watching over both of them.

My team. Damn--that sounds good. I was ready to give it all up. And I mean all of it, as in even my life. Who would have ever thought the stars I watched through my telescope were going to be within my reach? I reach down and ruffle Daniel's hair, something he hates, and sit down beside him. I grab a cup and hold it out for him to fill. He gives me a brief smile and then tilts his head back, looking up.

I follow his lead, wondering what he sees. The first pale streaks of dawn are lighting the sky and I know it won't be long until we leave this world to go back to Earth.

"Wow," Daniel whispers, summing up the sense of awe I think we all are feeling.

I grin as I look up, and feel my grin grow even wider as I lower my head to look at my team again. We're still feeling our way, taking baby steps, but somehow I have the feeling we're gonna' all do just fine. We fit together. The cranky colonel, the geeky archaeologist, the scientist soldier, and the stoic alien warrior. I let out a chuckle at my thoughts. Somehow I have the feeling we aren't going to be the kind of team that succumbs to tired old clichés.

Yeah, life is sweet.

  



End file.
